Sculptures by the sea is back for another year with more weird and wonderful sculptures. We went last week for a walk along the sand to see what was on offer. It also happened to be the windiest day and we were whipped and scoured by the sand. The sea was churning and the waves were slapping against the Groyne, soaking us when they came over the top. Anyway we managed a good 45 minutes walking in the softest sand. All of our eyes were watering and sore, I’m not sure how I managed to take any photos.
This is an annual event at Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia and is also held at Bondi Beach, NSW. It is a sponsored event and free to the public. The artists get a chance to exhibit their latest creations and prizes are awarded. Cottesloe Council often purchases one of the sculptures and these can be seen on the seafront.
Daring the waves to splash them
SOMA – Drew McDonald
Taking a rest
Love U – Jason Hirst
Homage to the Cube – Andrew Farmer
I like the way the above photos turned out with the iconic “Indiana Tearooms” reflected in the mirrored cube.
Ode to the Ancestors – Dr Jason Christopher
Artificial Real Time – Erica Zaino
Click on the photo to read the caption
Sun Dial – Tanya & Evi Ferrier
Time to go yet? It wasn’t quite accurate but close enough.
Emperor of the Abrolhos Tim Storrier Love Jimmy Rix Reef Reverie – Jonathon RockefellerSway – April PineSwan Theory – Fiona Gavino
Heaven – Vaughn Bisschops
My favourite sculpture this year is the silver pelican sitting on a shiny suitcase. It looks like postcards have been attached to the suitcase.
It’s that time of year again for all those innovative sculptors to exhibit their wonderful creations upon the shores of Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. I went with a friend yesterday to walk along the beach and upper grassy areas to view the fantastic pieces on offer. Many of the photos also work well with John’s Lens Artist Challenge this week too, which is all about light, shape, texture and form.
We started along the top grassy area and then walked to the end of the groyne. We both had swim suits on under our dresses and the water looked so good, we had a swim before proceeding to see the rest.
“Blanket”“Brood”“Woman wears Trousers”
The focus on the photos above are circular shapes and different textures. The name of each piece did not seem to correlate with the sculpture and seemed to be random words selected from a hat! Everytime I tried the last photo a small boy kept looking through and saying hello!
“The Approach”“Silver Lining”
A view through the sculptures
“Human Vessel”“Little and Large” – my own title!“Fortitude”
Tall and skinny ones and mirrored images
All the pieces looked completely different depending on which angle you shot from, making them all the more interesting.
“The Top of the Balance”“Gumnut Cap Quintet”“Florb”“Petal Driven Fairy Motor”
My favourite out of the four above would be Florb, the texture was amazing to touch. Some of the sculptures allowed for touching. There were hoards of school children swarming around, some too young to read, so therefore lots of touching going on!
“The Top of the Balance” edited by me!
“Dave”“I Put a Moon on the Table – Someone is Living in it”
The above are also two of my favourites. How cute is the “Moon” and look at the intricate detail. I also love “Dave” standing loud and proud.
“Love Aus”“A Bridge too Far”
Textures, shadows and shapes
“Macrame Boab Tree”“Trash Can Mountain”“Ceramic Tree Ants”“Giant Toe Nails”
I made up the above titles!
“Seated Man”“Hush” Soaking up some rays
I hope you enjoyed this walk along the sands with me to view these wonderful sculptures. This is one of my favourite events of the year.
Also joining Restless Jo for Monday Walk – although my walk was Wednesday!
It’s been so hot in Perth these last few days I finally persuaded Anthony to come to the beach with me. We arrived around 4.30 pm and found somewhere for the deckchairs. This week is the opening of Sculptures by the Sea 2023, so it was pretty busy on the beach with some sculptures already up and others being erected. Bulldozers were going up and down on the sand creating spaces for sculptures that needed reinforcing.
“The beach is a place of art, Where sand comes alive by the sun’s light, Where sculptures spring up like mushrooms in the night. Each wave that greets the shore, A brush stroke of ambience, Creating a masterpiece on the sea floor Sculptures of sand, soaked by the sun’s kiss, Moulded with care, to make us never miss The memories of our days at the shore, And the special places we just can’t ignore.”
A poem created by the new AI Block on WordPress
I have just been reading Deb’s post about this new block and thought I would give it a try! I suppose it is cheating but so much fun.
As you can see Anthony is waiting patiently for me to have a quick swim. It’s ironic that I decided to go for a swim on the first day of Autumn and no sign of the end of the Summer in sight!
So far there are some wonderful colours dotted around and I’m looking forward to sharing more in the next couple of weeks.
My featured photo shows the surf lifesavers practicing their exercises. I thought this showed a certain order as I watched them paddling out, circling around and back again. (For Marsha’s WQ post).
In a sea of chaos and dismay Order can brighten up your day. An unbroken pattern of sound That summons things around.
There’s nearly always a fabulous sunset at Cottelsoe Beach and so we treated ourselves to happy hour at one of the pubs along the seafront.
Chilled Sauvignon Blanc
On Good Friday we were kindly invited to a friend’s place for dinner. The house overlooks the Swan River and the evening was just perfect, balmy with fabulous views and a full moon too. A wonderful way to start the Easter weekend.
Yesterday evening I thought it would be a good idea to drive to Cottesloe to watch the sunset. My dear hubby did say he didn’t think there would one as it was too cloudy, of course he was right. I’ve never seen such a strange sky. After a 40 degrees the day before the temperature plummeted to 25 degrees bringing the most intense thick clouds and a very nippy wind. Still I managed to capture some shots of sculptures I’ve not seen before.
White alien looking ladies in someone’s front gardenA gloomy looking sunset
Every Friday Cee or Marsha from Always Write host a challenge – Photographing Public Art. The art should be visible from the street or sidewalk or in any outdoor places. Some suggestions from Cee below.
Seasonal Displays
Graffiti
Statues and Sculptures
Collections
Store Windows
Murals
Transportation
Car Shows
Artistic Construction (Bridge, benches and buildings)
Every year Cottesloe, Western Australia hosts Sculptures by the Sea and this year was the 17th year. It is one of the largest sculpture exhibitions in the World. We dropped by last week, fortunately we arrived just in time as it was the last day and some of the works had already been taken down. It runs for around two weeks in March. The sculptures are arranged all along the beach and on the walkway above. Some are truly magnificent and wonderful works of art. My favourite type of gallery – outside!
Below are some of my favourites.
Labyrinth – Andrea Vinkovic
All the above stones are intricately carved but I couldn’t find anything about each stone’s story.
The backs of the stones are also carved, such fascinating designs
Dignity – Yuko Takahashi
The above sculpture is made of bronze
Wandoo Mantle – Tony Davis
This is made from Wandoo wood a type of eucalyptus and steel
Jina Lee – A Gift
This work is inspired by traditional Korean lucky pouch “Bokjumeoni”. It’s made of sandstone and rope.
The Boab – Tuinna Blackie Interpretation of the Tree of Life
Two Little Ladies – a reflection in The Boab
This is an event I try to see every year. It’s best to come early in the morning or late afternoon when the sun is not so strong.
Incorporated in today’s post is a double challenge: Sculptures and Perspectives. Sculpture Saturday hosted by Mind over Memory and July Perspectives hosted by The Life of B
This is from Sculptures by the Sea in Cottesloe. An annual event where sculptors enter their exhibit. Some are put together at the beach over several days. It’s a great free event that lasts two weeks.
On the left you can see me and my parents having a bit of fun with this mirrored sculpture. The name of the sculptor is Silvia Tuccimei.
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else’s posts from these challenges.
Last week we went for a short walk along the promenade from Cottesloe to Swanbourne. There had been a few bush fires that week, the result of “controlled burns”. These are also known as hazard reduction burning. However, even these can get out of control and cause a haziness to spread across vast areas. The smoke can be smelt from miles away.
I took a photo of the sunset that day and you can see how hazy the sky is.
It was quite chilly but that doesn’t stop people trying to catch a wave or a fish!
A place in North Vancouver but it does deserve a mention under C! We did a day trip here from our stay in Vancouver a few years ago now and had a great time there. Crossing the bridge is not recommended if you have vertigo as it stands 70 metres above the Capilano River and when there are at least fifty or more people trying to cross and take photos it can be a bit hair raising.
It was first built in 1889 by George Grant Mackay and was then made of hemp rope and cedar planks. The history of this bridge is very interesting, the land and teahouse situated there being the home of many settlers over the years. The word Capilano comes from the Squamish nation and was originally spelt Kia’palano, meaning beautiful river.
Source: www.capbridge.com
The cantilevered and suspended walkway jutting out from the granite cliff – not for the fainthearted!
Crossing with so many others
This is when the bridge gets shaky!
One of the bridges into the treetops
The Capilano River
one of the small lookouts on the treetop adventure activity
To get here from Vancouver it is very easy either on public transport or one of the sightseeing tour buses. It’s well worth a trip to see this amazing structure.
Cavtat (pronounced Savtat) is a small town that we visited during our trip to Dubrovnik. It’s a very pretty place with plenty of bars, restaurants and cafes to sit in and watch the world go by. From Dubrovnik you can either take a bus or a ferry. We were actually staying outside of Dubrovnik in a place called Mlini but from here you can also take a bus or ferry. We took the ferry which takes about 30 minutes.
Church of St. Nicholas
Cafes and restaurants by the harbour
Looking for a souvenir
Found one!
Abandoned rowing boat – beyond repair!
Overlooking the beautiful Adriatic sea
Some of the photos I took during our walk around Cavtat. After a delicious lunch we took the bus back to Mlini.
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Cottesloe, Western Australia
Cottesloe is my home town, well almost! Just a 10 minute drive away from where we live and is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Family friendly and now safe for swimming with a shark net in place. Patrolled by lifeguards from the month of November through until April. There is a wonderful path for walkers and cyclists that stretches for miles with stunning views over the Indian Ocean. BBQ areas are also dotted along the path for people who want to bring their own food.
My parents along the Groyne enjoying the sunshine
One of the sculptures from Sculptures by the Sea
One of the small inlets along the coast
Artwork on the side of the Surf Lifesavers Club
The concrete pylon in the distance, built in 1936 and now heritage listed. A popular diving point.
Overlooking the dunes
A balmy calm day
The most photographed building in Cottesloe is the iconic Indiana Tea Rooms, originally built in 1910 as an ice cream parlour and then as a restaurant in 1966. Sadly it is now closed and awaiting redevelopment, as to what no-one is sure at the moment. There is much debate about whether to knock it down and build a modern glass structure or refurbish the old building. Personally I would like to see it refurbished as Cottesloe wouldn’t be the same without it.
